linkfest – 11/04/12

Racial differences in narcissistic tendencies – “Study 1 (N = 367) found that Black individuals reported higher levels of narcissism than White individuals even when controlling for gender, self-esteem level, and socially desirable response tendencies.” – @steve sailer’s.

Genomics: The single life – “‘In recent years we’ve learned that there is considerable variation in the recombination rate between different populations, between the sexes and even between individuals.’”

Moment Magazine’s great (Jewish) DNA experiment – “Moment Magazine … wrote about their Great DNA Experiment, in which they look at the 23andMe results of 15 notable Americans of Jewish ancestry and make some interesting genetic connections…. The piece shows it’s not ‘six degrees’ that separates these individuals from each other, but, in all but one case, no degrees of separation.” – @race/history/evolution notes.

Are the cads outbreeding the dads? – “Is natural selection now favoring the ‘cads’ over the ‘dads’?” – god, i hope not! – from peter frost.

Is there an upside to anxiety? – “[S]ocial anxiety – the fear of interactions with strangers – may have evolved to enable a natural social ranking system in which some people feel most comfortable towards the bottom of the totem pole. This natural shuffling would have made for a less aggressive, more survivable living situation and reduced fighting for leadership.”

Young Children Are More Generous When Others Are Aware of Their Actions – “Adults frequently employ reputation-enhancing strategies when engaging in prosocial acts, behaving more generously when their actions are likely to be witnessed by others and even more so when the extent of their generosity is made public…. Children were consistently generous only when the recipient was fully aware of the donation options; in all cases in which the recipient was not aware of the donation options, children were strikingly ungenerous…. These findings suggest that long before they develop a rich understanding of the social significance of reputation or are conscious of complex strategic reasoning, children behave more generously when the details of their prosocial actions are available to others.”

Evidence of Viking Outpost Found in Canada – “Sharpeners may be smoking guns in quest for New World’s second Viking site.”

Archaeologists unearth 1,300-year-old Anglo Saxon feasting hall inches below village green in first major find of its kind in 30 years

bonus: NYU loses years of scientific research and thousands of mice to Hurricane Sandy – well that s*cks.

bonus bonus: darwin award winners – Celebratory gunfire at Saudi wedding cuts cable, 23 electrocuted – =/

bonus bonus bonus: Where Dragons Come From – “The villains of countless stories, the mythical beasts have roots in Rome’s Pliny — and nature.”

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linkfest – 10/09/11

A Moral Gene? — one of ‘em.

Copping a Latitude: Genetics Supports Idea Cultural Interaction Was More East to West Than North to South — not to mention genetic interaction.

Study finds crows can distinguish symbols representing quantities

Racial differences in narcissistic tendencies — higher levels of narcissism in black than in whites.

Cannibalism Confirmed Among Ancient Mexican Group – “Eating humans ‘crucial’ to spiritual life of the Xiximes people.” – ancient? we’re talking about 1425 a.d. here.

Chinese Kids Feel More Obliged Toward Parents? — from parapundit.

5 Things That Internet Porn Reveals About Our Brains – no big surprises here. except maybe for the number of guys searching for granny pr0n!

Climbing up the social ladder — Mouse study may tell how. — that’s some geeky looking chinese people there! not that there’s anything wrong with that. (~_^)

‘Dumb’ Neanderthals Likely Had a Smart Diet

Birth Order and the Big Five – “A new study reports that there is no connection between birth order and Big 5 personality traits.” – @the inductivist.

bonus: Charles Darwin, Economist

bonus bonus: Afghanistan Holds Enormous Bounty of Rare Earths, Minerals – “Geologists actually mapping the country’s mineral bounty suspect its prime cache of coveted rare earth elements is considerably larger than the latest estimate lets on”

bonus bonus bonus: Is the Present Better Than the Past? — from everyone’s favorite über-pessimist, john derbyshire.

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linkfest – 09/10/11

Earliest Signs of Advanced Tools Found — also, john hawks on the find.

The Verge of Human – @the loom. there might be some fossilized skin from one of these fossils, too. cool!!

Modernity and the Lynn-Flynn Effect – from dennis mangan.

Human ancestors interbred with related species – “Analysis suggests genetic mixing occurred in Africa around 35,000 years ago…. Hammer says this disproves the conventional view that we are descended from a single population that arose in Africa and replaced all other Homo species without interbreeding. ‘We need to modify the standard model of human origins,’ he says.”

Study links baby’s behavior and adult brain function – “A new study that tracked children from before they were teething until they were graduating high school suggests that a baby boy’s temperament may predict his brain activity nearly two decades later.”

Freedom to Riot: On the Evolution of Collective Violence – “Collective violence, extending from riots to warfare, presents a challenge to our ordinary understanding of free will. Actions that would rarely be taken by an individual on their own seem to be embraced when supported by a larger group.”

Scientists find they can control how people react to group pressure – baaaaaaah.

Why Is Average IQ Higher in Some Places? – it’s not the whole story, but it’s likely part of it.

Couch Potatoes Explained? Missing Key Genes May Be Cause for Lack of Resolve to Exercise, Researchers Find

Blacks are more narcissistic – @the inductivist.

bonus: The “Yellow Snow” Test for Self-Recognition – watch out where the huskies go!

bonus bonus: The irrationality of politics

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obama IS a dick!

why would you say this?!:

“‘I cannot guarantee that those [Social Security] checks go out on August 3rd if we haven’t resolved this issue. Because there may simply not be the money in the coffers to do it,’ Mr. Obama said in an interview with CBS Evening News anchor Scott Pelley, according to excerpts released by CBS News.”

yeah, yeah — i know, i know. it’s a bargaining chip. but does he have any idea how many elderly people he just gave heart attacks and strokes? i mean LITERALLY.

obviously he doesn’t.

jag-off.

update: Washington gets $200 billion a month, Social Security costs $50 billion a month, and Obama is threatening to starve Grandma?

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not really a psycho

yes, it’s one of those friday evenings messing around with goofy personality tests on the innerwebs. (~_^)

via vox (who is SUCH a narcissist!), i find that (according to okcupid) i’m not really a psychopath (whew!):

“You scored 5 on Emotional Detachment and 7 on Chaotic Lifestyle!

“Relax, you are quite healthy. You are emotionally stable and you lead a normal life, as far as conditions allow. You may have other problems (if you score too low on detachment, you may be oversensitive or lack self-esteem, if you score too low on chaotism, you may be pedantic or rigid) but psychopathy is not one of them.”

yeah. i can be oversensitive. that’s the introversion again.

*sigh*

(^_^)

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